The alarm will be given, and we shall
be pursued. In these three hours, then, we must get so far ahead that
they may not be able to come up with us."

At first the pathway was wide enough for them all to move at a rapid
pace; but soon it began to grow narrower. As they advanced, the trees
grew taller, and the shadows which they threw were darker. The path
became more winding, for, like all trails, it avoided the larger
trees or stones, and wound around them, where a road would have led
to their removal. The path also became rougher, from stones which
protruded in many places, or from long roots stretching across, which
in the darkness made the horses stumble incessantly. These it was
impossible to avoid. In addition to these, there were miry places,
where the horses sank deep, and could only extricate themselves with
difficulty.

Thus their progress grew less and less, till at length it dwindled to
a walk, and a slow one at that. Nothing else could be done. They all
saw the impossibility of more rapid progress, in the darkness, over
such a path. Of them all, Claude was the most impatient, as was
natural. His sense of danger was most keen. The terror of the night
had not yet passed away. Already, more than once, he had gone from
despair to hope, and back once more to despair; and it seemed to him
as though his soul must still vibrate between these two extremes. The
hope which was born out of new-found freedom was now rapidly yielding
to the fear of pursuit and re-capture.

In the midst of these thoughts, he came forth suddenly upon a broad,
open plain, filled with stout underbrush. Through this the trail ran.
Reaching this, the whole party urged their horses at full speed, and
for at least three miles they were able to maintain this rapid
progress. At the end of that distance, the trail once more entered
the woods, and the pace dwindled to a walk. But that three-mile run
cheered the spirits of all.

"How many miles have we come, I wonder?" asked Claude.

"About six," said the priest.

"How many miles is it to the schooner?"

"About forty."

Claude drew a long breath.

"It must be nearly three o'clock in the morning now," said he. "I
dare say they are finding it out now."

"Well, we needn't stop to listen," said the priest.

"No; we'll hear them soon enough."

"At any rate, the dawn is coming," said the priest. "The day will
soon be here, and then we can go on as fast as we wish."

CHAPTER XXIII.